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Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko at the station site of Clark International Airport in Mabalacat, Pampanga.
Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiro joined Ministry of Transport Undersecretary (DoTr) Timothy John Batan and Asian Development Bank (ADB) Managing Director Ramesh Subramaniam in the joint site inspection for the extension the ongoing North-South Suburban Railway (NSCR) project funded by Japan. from Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban.
Held at the site of the Clark International Airport train station in Mabalacat, Pampanga, the ceremony on September 18 marked the start of construction of the NSCR Extension Project (NSCR-Ex).
Jointly funded by the AfDB and the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), there will be two extension lines to strengthen the Philippine public transport network and expand the economic sphere of Metro Manila, alleviating traffic congestion, improving environmental investment and mitigating the effects of air pollution and climate change. The 51 km north extension will stretch from Malolos to Clark International Airport, while the 55 km south extension will stretch from Solis, Manila to Calamba, Laguna.
The project will use the Japanese rail system which uses energy efficient and reliable trains. The technical aspects will also complement the ongoing NSCR Malolos to Tutuban project which adopts Japanese technology on flood-resistant and earthquake-resistant design to withstand earthquakes. The loan in yen of official development assistance for Jica will be used for the acquisition of rolling stock and rail system as well as consultancy services, while the funds of the ADB loan will be used for civil works.
The NSCR-Ex project is one of the major infrastructure projects supported by Japan under the Philippine government’s Build, Build, Build program. The Government of Japan has supported the Philippine railway industry for many years now, including the expansion of Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 at Cavite, the recently completed LRT Line 2 extension at Masinag, Antipolo as part of the improvement of the capacity of public transport Systems in the Metro Manila project, rehabilitation projects of Line 3 of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), in addition to the Metro Manila metro.
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